The Sourcebooks Fire and Jabberwocky teams really know how to throw a party! Books of Wonder was packed from wall to wall! Teen Beat was awesome, and not only can Libba Bray write, but she can also belt out the tunes!

It was an odd experience, finally meeting people in person when you’ve spent so much time chatting with them online. I spent the first part of the evening trying to guess who was who, but then name tags were passed out, alleviating the awkward introduction: “Excuse me, but are you …?” I’ve told my husband all about these online friends (and he does his best to keep them straight), but this was their first encounter with him and that was fun for me, too.

The music was a blast (Purple Rain was nostalgic for many of us), and the food was delicious, but the conversations were the best part of the evening. Bob and I talked to Todd Stocke, editorial director of Sourcebooks, about the impact of social media on the publishing world. Joy Preble and I chatted about the ending of her sequel to Dreaming Anastasia. That is, we discussed the process of writing it – she didn’t give away any plot points, so don’t ask! Ty Drago, (The Undertakers, Spring 2011), shared stories about weird questions authors get. (ex: Is it possible for a woman to strangle a man with her bare hands?) I found out that my editor, Kelly, is off to the Bologna Book Fair next week. (Lucky, huh? Italy and books!) And I finished out the evening talking to Lisa Brown (Picture the Dead, May 2010) about caged graves, Victorian hair jewelry, and future projects.

In the picture above, I am standing with Laura Duksta (I Love You More), Lila Castle (The Star Shack, June 2010), and Kay Mitchell, publicist for Sourcebooks and one of the event organizers. You can find more photos of the party on my website .